Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes,

listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of murder, sexual assault,

rape, and child abuse that some people may find offensive.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

On March 23, 1997,

16-year-old Wendy von Hubern was trying not to panic

as she hid inside a stopped freight train.

Minutes earlier, her fiancé, Jesse, had hopped off the train with their new friend, Raphael.

Before he left, Jesse promised, I'll be right back.

Ever since they'd run away together a month ago,

Jesse hadn't left Wendy's side, but now Jesse was gone,

and Wendy had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Still, Raphael seemed friendly and had promised to help Wendy and Jesse find work.

They'd followed him willingly onto the train, desperate to make money and avoid going home.

When the train stopped in Bellevue, Florida,

Jesse and Raphael got off the train together for a bathroom break.

But they'd been gone for a long time.

With a jolt of horror, Wendy heard the train's engine juttering back to life around her

and felt it grinded slowly into motion. She was frozen.

Just as she was contemplating whether to jump off the moving train and look for the others,

Raphael reappeared. But Wendy's relief was short-lived.

...